Closer Than Expected

This picture was just sent to me by a friend. Depicting Astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, the paintings of fellow blogger Donato Giancola immediately came to mind.

I have heard Donato speak many times of how he uses Science-Fiction themes as a 'veneer' for his portraits, which to him, are more about the people than their environments. Whether it is 2000 AD, or 20,000 AD, the human condition remains a constant and is truly what holds our interest in an image.

Look at the images, and consider their similarities, as well as their differences.



It makes me wonder if some Art Teacher, 1000 years from now, will criticize his student's work, only to receive the most dreaded response of all....



"It was that way in my reference."



The picture above, as well as a wealth of other great images, can be found at the Astronomy Picture of the Day site at: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/